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Campiglia Cervo - Oropa (Biella)- Panoramic road of the Rosazza Gallery
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Show to visit in the Biella area: |
 The road described on this page connects the Oropa Sanctuary with that of St. John the Baptist of Andorno passing through the Rosazza Tunnel, completed in 1897. In a straight line the two sanctuaries are very near (just 6km) but before the opening of the tunnel and the construction of the road they were connected only by trails that climbed the mountain to the Colma Hill at 1622 meters above sea level.
The road and the tunnel were built, starting from 1889, by Federico Rosazza Pistolet, philanthropist and Italian politician of the 19th century, famous for having performed numerous works in favor of the population of the Cervo Valley.
Like the Zegna Panoramic Road, also this track offers great and striking views, but the views are less open and the mountain are steeper. In addition, the track is much more tormented, with the presence of numerous steep bends, especially on the side to the Sanctuary of John the Baptist.
Along the route there are several buildings that Federico Rosazza wanted to be erected in order to guarantee a protected rest for travelers. Starting from the Sanctuary of San Giovanni, you first meet the "Aedicule of the Rest", also known as "Baracun". Further up there is the "Small Tower" (Fig. 2), a small granite building with windows facing the valley.
At the highest point, just before the tunnel, there is a real restaurant, the Restaurant Della Galleria (Fig 3), which has also rooms for those who want to stay overnight.
The building was built by Federico Rosazza, who took advantage of the collaboration of Giuseppe Maffei, a painter of Graglia and an expert in spiritualism, a practice very much in vogue at that time. In a neo-gothic style, the building looks more like a small castle than like an alpine refuge.
Going down to the Sanctuary of Oropa you will finally meet the Rotonda Belvedere , a strange building halfway between a chapel and a pagan temple (Fig. 4) and a remarkable point of observation.
Other buildings to be mentioned are:
- the Ancient Delubro, fake ruin made with fragments found in the Oropa undergrounds, some of which unfortunately stolen or damaged.
- the Aedicule of Sant'Eusebio, a small temple in neobyzantine style and with a pentagonal plan, commissioned to Maffei by Rosazza. Inside there is a statue of the saint and frescoes (by Mafffei himself) depicting the Sanctuary of San Giovanni di Andorno and that of Graglia.
The Rosazza Tunnel connecting the two valleys was started in 1893 and inaugurated on July 17, 1897. It is 367 meters long and is set at a height of 1488 meters above sea level. The maximum height and the maximum width are both 4.5m.
The walls are of rough rock and there is no illumination. However, there is a pavement consisting of two granite slabs lines, similar to that found in some small towns of the upper Cervo Valley.
The entrances are decorated with brick and granite facades. The one on the side of the Sanctuary of Saint John remembers that of a church, the other that of a small castle, with fake towers on both sides.
Categories: Places of historical value of landscape value
45.640191, 7.986180 |
Panoramic road of the Rosazza Gallery: Further pictures in the section Photography |